SHEEP IN THE HANDS OF A GOOD SHEPHERD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:1-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Life is not easy. How many times have you heard this said (or maybe have even said it yourself) to a young person who is approaching adulthood? The words are meant to be a forewarning, an honest assessment of what is to come when the security blanket of childhood is lifted and a person heads out into the world to try and find their own way – a way that sure to be marked with its share of perils and troubles.

And sadly, that is usually where the conversation ends. It’s like saying to a person, “You’re going to face difficulty in life as you try and navigate through it. Good luck.” Then we let them to their own devices to deal with what life brings them.

Wouldn’t it be great to give them something concrete to help them deal with what is sure to come their way? Shouldn’t we leave them with an assurance that they are not alone when they meet hardship?

Thanks be to God that David was thinking like this when he penned the 23rd Psalm, perhaps the most beloved and well known of all psalms. In it, he writes six verses that have comforted and consoled people through difficulties for nearly 2,000 years – and he did so by comparing the Lord to a shepherd.

Let’s look at the first four verses:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

David surely faced his share of trouble in life. On separate occasions, he fled Jerusalem to avoid dying at the hands of his enemies and in every instance, the Lord delivered him from harm. Indeed, David knew all about the saving nature of the Lord first hand.

So what was David getting at when he talked about the Lord being his Shepherd?

First of all, we need to remember David’s humble beginnings. As the youngest son of Jesse, we know that he tended the sheep in the fields and that’s where he was when chosen by God to be king after Saul fell out of favor with the Lord. And so having been one himself, David knew all about what a shepherd did and thus knew what he was talking about when he made a comparison with the Lord.

And so with this, with the Lord being his Shepherd, David was implying that he was a sheep under the Shepherd’s care. As a prior shepherd, David knew all about sheep too.

David knew about the characteristics of sheep and to understand how we can be compared to them, we need to see where we’re like them in so many ways. Here are a few points to ponder:

1. Sheep are dependent.

They need a leader and protector to make it through life. Left to their own devices without a shepherd, sheep would perish as they don’t know what is best for them and they can’t defend themselves. They will wander until they eventually fall into danger and with no protector and guide, they are doomed.

We are like this as well. We think we can do everything on our own - that is until we get into trouble. Then you can bet we will be crying out for help from someone, someone like a shepherd to lead us out of the mess we’re in. In the end, we’re as dependent as sheep even if we don’t want to admit it sometimes.

2. Sheep will follow others, even to their demise.

Sheep don’t think very independently and tend to follow the lead of others. They’re dependent, remember.

Let’s say a flock of sheep are without a shepherd. They are grazing near a ledge of a steep cliff. One sheep decides to jump off the side of the cliff. Guess what the rest of the sheep will do. Yep, they too will jump. This is why sheep need the watchful eye and guidance of a shepherd. To save them from themselves.

We too often are just like the sheep. We tend to blindly follow the lead of others without considering the consequences. Without the guiding of the shepherd, we can follow others to our own ruin

3. Sheep have their share of enemies.

There was no shortage of predators who would like nothing more than find dinner at the hands of a wandering, unattended sheep. In fact in 2009, a whopping 37 percent of all sheep deaths in the United States were at the hands of predatory animals.

We too run into our share of enemies in life, people who would like nothing better than to prey on you and me. Like sheep, we need the protection of a shepherd.

4. Sheep are restless.

It’s been said that the only time sheep truly rest is when they know they are free from danger. They need comfort to be at peace.

David found that peace through the Lord who made him lie down in green pastures and led him by the still waters. We can find it as well.

5. Sheep stray and get lost.

As much as a flock of sheep will stick together, there is always that one sheep or so who will decide to go out on its own, stray and become lost. And unless they are found, they will be in dire straits.

It’s little wonder why we find ourselves referred to as sheep more for this reason than almost any other. For we tend to stray in our lives from our Shepherd, leaving us vulnerable to the things of life, often in need of rescue. What a comfort it is to know that the Lord, our Shepherd, will not rest until He finds each lost sheep, willing to leave the rest of the flock behind while in pursuit (Luke 15:3-7). He will not rest until the lost are found.

This parable of the Lost Sheep was told by none other than our Savior and Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who knew a little about sheep too and their need for a shepherd. And He knew we, like David, were like sheep in need of a shepherd, a Shepherd He was willing to be for us. Consider these words of Jesus from the Gospel of John:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the Gate for the sheep. All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the Gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

 “I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

“I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me —  just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd.” John 10:1-16

There are many shepherds but only one good Shepherd, Jesus, a Shepherd unlike any other.

This is because while some shepherds can offer protection and safety, they can’t provide eternal salvation. Only Jesus, the good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep, can offer that.

Those who come to His flock, entering through the narrow gate He guards (Matthew 7:13-14), find their way to the fullest life possible, a life that offers the green pastures and still waters we yearn for, a life that offers the protection of a Shepherd who will flee no adversary we have. No one can rival Him and so we rest easy in the peace and comfort of knowing He has us in His loving hands. And we love His voice so much that we will follow no other, knowing that when we follow the voice of our Shepherd, He will always guide us to the right place, the place where He wants us to be.

Friends, it is true that life will be hard and trouble will come on sheep like you and me. But it’s equally true that we have a Shepherd who is ever with us, a good Shepherd who guides us, refreshes us, protects us, comforts us, and loves us more than anything. David realized it. That’s why he wrote the 23rd Psalm.

And so the question is, “Do you know your good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One and only One who can save you today?”

If not, it’s time to join the flock and become a sheep in the everlasting arms of the good Shepherd.   

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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